Junior High Dance

Tonight Jim and I agreed (volunteered, begged) to help chaperone the valentine's "activity night" at the boys' school. I was especially eager to gain access to the social lives of tweeners, because since the boys have started middle school, we feel sort of left out. Almost nightly we casually ask the boys how things are going, what happens during a typical day at school, who do you hang out with, etc., and although we are fortunate and thankful that they don't reply with monosyllabic grunts, they still do not provide me with the juicy details I'm really after. It's also a strange transition from elementary to middle school. In elementary school, we were still the hovering/doting parents. We carpooled to school, we talked daily with the teachers and other parents, we dutifully went to all school functions, etc. Middle School is a whole different scene. Gone are the days when we take our kids to school and know who their teachers are. Haaa. I haven't a clue about what goes on at school, and it's not because I don't try. It really is that different. Now the boys make their own breakfast and lunch and get themselves to school. In fact, Jim and I aren't even here in the mornings, so they are pretty much taking care of themselves. The scary part is that they do a really good job and so last summer when they knew they were going to Philadelphia for ballet school, they assumed we were renting them an apartment and they would be living on their own! Anyway, when the opportunity came to volunteer for activity night, I eagerly signed Jim and myself up for the honors. I can't wait to watch the social interaction of these kids. There will be dancing, karaoke, games, and I'm sure lots of other "unapproved" activities. I'm not quite sure of what our jobs tonight will entail, but I really hope we are smack in the middle of all the action and not stationed in the parking lot. On second thought, the parking lot is probably where all the "real" action will be...